Total Drama Island
by chicago718
Summary: Basically a continuance of Total Drama Island before Katie gets voted off. Romance, humor, rivalries. PLEASE R&R! Note: The rest of Interlocked has been posted!
1. Taste Test

Taste Test

**Taste Test**

A Total Drama Island Story

_A/N: This story takes place before Katie got voted off, because this is where I started watching the season. The challenge is this: Chef Hatchet makes the most grotesque meal, different for each camper, containing what they hate most. They eat it, or lose the point. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own TDI, even if I really wish I did, but I don't, so don't rub it in. _

"Okay, campers!" Chris MaClean shouted to the campers and the camera men in a false, cheery voice. "You have a new challenge, perhaps the most difficult one of all."

He paused dramatically. "Come on out, Chef Hatchet." A burly black man emerged from the trees surrounding the campsite and stopped next to Chris. "Ah, the man of the day himself," Chris announced. "Today—" He got closer to the camera for his close-up. "— Chef Hatchet will make one meal for the campers. It will be the most disgusting, and maybe alive, meal these guys have ever had."

Courtney, ever the leader, stood up indignantly. "You can't do that! That food could get us extremely sick. Chef Hatchet's food is gr—" She stopped in the middle of 'gross' as the chef threw her a terrifying glare. She sat down weakly. "Chef Hatchet's food is great."

Duncan smirked. So did Chris. "Actually, Courtney I can. It's all in the papers." He held up a stack of white paper, each bearing the contestant's signature. "And don't try ripping it up. Like I said before, lawyers make lots of copies."

"Wait!" Lindsay said. "Um, like, Chris, my nutritionist said I can't have anything that like, you know, contains a lot of sugar or fat." She paused thoughtfully. "Or raw animals."

"You won't have to worry about the sugar or fat," Chris said. "I make no promises about the raw animals."

"As long as there's no sugar!" she replied brightly, satisfied.

Bridgette spoke up. "I can't eat animals. I'm a strict vegetarian. Unlike you, I care about the environment."

Chris continued as if he hadn't heard. "Well, to the mess hall in half an hour, guys. Lunch is served."

Everyone rolled their eyes at his French accent except for Lindsay who gushed, "I love foreigners!"

Back at the grounds in front Killer Bass cabin everyone was worried about the taste test. Especially Courtney. Hopefully no one would find out she was afraid of green jello…

"All right there, princess?" Duncan said, looking up from the skull he was carving into a block of bark to smirk at her.

"You just shut it," she snapped, pacing the other way.

Bridgette was equally worried but more openly so. "I just can't eat animals," she cried. "No matter how hungry I am. True if they're in the woods, I sort of freak out, but I cannot eat them."

"Don't worry," Geoff said in a laid back tone, though he was worried about what _he_ would be eating. "I'm sure that if you can't Chris won't make you."

"Knowing Chris, I wouldn't be so sure. The Animal Kindness Society is so kicking me out if they watch this show."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Bridge," Geoff replied.

"I hope."

Over at the Screaming Gophers things weren't much better. Of course Lindsay was cheery that there would be no sugar or fat, but Heather was talking sneeringly to Beth.

"Okay, I know we're all here to win that money and stuff," Heather said disdainfully. "But seriously, like, Chris has gone _way_ too far. This food is totally going to have me running to the bathroom all night. Not to mention that I'm sure none of the food will be within the strict guidelines of my diet."

"But hasn't all the food you've eaten here before already done that?" Beth asked. Sometimes the food _moved_. If that wasn't something to keep you in the bathroom…

"Keep it in line, sister," Heather snapped. "You want to be in this alliance or not?"

"Yes!" Beth squeaked, stepping back a bit in surprise. Heather had been biting out like a rattlesnake unexpectedly a lot these days. She was really irritable.

"Good." She stalked off.

Over on the steps of the boys' cabin, Gwen and Trent were discussing stuff, just randomly, like movies and books and music. Sometimes she could get so lost in these discussions with Trent. Like in the "awake-a-thon", she had kept herself awake just thinking about Trent…

"If it isn't the two lovebirds," Heather sneered, walking past as if hoping Gwen would challenge her.

"Ignore her, Gwen," Trent said as Gwen balled her fists, wanting to stop the fight if it was coming. "Come on…uh, what's your least favorite food? In light of the events?"

"I'm not so sure I should say." Gwen glanced at a camera 'hidden', or rather, taped to a tree.

"Oh. You're right, that was dumb…" Trent trailed off. He checked his watch. "We better get going; we have to be in the mess hall in a few minutes."

The Screaming Gophers and the Killer Bass lined up on opposite sides of the mess hall, apprehensively surveying the nine silver platters on each of the tables (making a total of eighteen). Each plate had a paper name card next to it, reading the camper's name. Chris MaClean materialized in front of the camera with a smile on his face, like he was enjoying himself watching their nervous faces.

"Okay! The moment of the day, the taste test itself. The only thing I have to say is—" He chuckled menacingly. "—you guys better have stomachs of steel." He strode purposefully over to the end of the hall between the two tables and gestured to the Screaming Gopher table. "Here's the line up: Trent…" He patted the seat and Trent sat down. "Gwen…Heather…Beth…Owen…Izzy…LeShawna…Cody…Lindsay."

They all sat down simultaneously, Gwen glaring at Heather and smiling at Trent.

"Now for you Killer Bass." Chris turned to the opposing table. "Duncan…Courtney…Bridgette…Geoff…Tyler…DJ…Harold…Katie…and Sadie."

"Yay!" The BFFFLs shrieked, hi-fiving and sitting down. Courtney grudgingly sat down next to Duncan.

"Nervous, princess?" he asked, obviously enjoying himself.

"Oh, you wish," she countered, picking up the plastic spoon and fork. "Cheap producers," she muttered, examining the utensils

"All right! On my mark, everyone will open their platters, but will not eat," Chris directed. "Okay…_open_."

The sound of heavy tops being lifted and being set back down echoed in the mess hall. Courtney dropped her spoon and fork onto her lap, looking absolutely terrified.

Encased in a lump of green jello were a few wriggling bugs and a fish, uncooked.

"Oh my god," she whispered. Even Duncan looked shaken. There was a piece of bear on his plate, uncooked with clumps of fur still attached. A thick white-ish lumpy mush that Courtney took to be sauce, covered it. They shared a look.

"I can't eat this," they both said at the same time.

"Chris?" Duncan said, raising his voice over the sounds of campers groaning in distaste at their plates. "I don't remember the contract saying that I'd have to eat raw bear."

"Well, if you'd known, you wouldn't have come, would you, Duncan," Chris said, but his last words were covered by Owen yelling, "This looks delicious!"

Everyone stared at his plate. There was a raw chicken on it. Tyler ducked under the table and the unmistakable sounds of puking came out. Sitting on Tyler's plate was the same thing.

"Aw, poor Tyler," Lindsay cooed. Heather glared.

"Keep your eyes on the prize, Lindsay. No dating Tyler or you're out."

"I know this all looks very delicious," Chris shouted over the din of puking. "The deal is this: five bites, and you get the point. Anything less and it's Loserville for you."

"If we put it in our mouth but don't swallow, does it count?" Izzy asked.

"No, it doesn't. However, if you swallow it then throw it back up, you get the point."

"Well, can we take really small bites?" Duncan volunteered, staring hopefully at Chris.

"Duncan, man, you really shouldn't have said that. I never thought of that, but no, they've got to be real bites, not baby bites."

Courtney glared at him. "Way to go, 'princess'."

He shrugged dejectedly.

"Any more questions? No? Then on your mark…get set…GO!"

Everyone stared at him for a moment. "When I say go, I meant GO! Now!"

"Oh, right…" Izzy giggled, picking up her fork and neatly cutting off a piece of her frog and slipping it into her mouth. "Hey! This isn't that bad! Man, this challenge is a piece of —" There was a grumbling from her stomach. Izzy lurched. "Oh my gosh…"

Everyone watched as Izzy tore out of the hall, clutching her mouth.

Bridgette was relieved to see no meat on her plate, but was disgusted at the conditions of the animals on the others' plates. Chris seemed to read her mind. "Bridgette, have a peace of mind that all these animals dies of natural causes, like old age. We couldn't do anything. We were just scavengers, hunting them down."

"Okay, good…" Bridgette said, relieved. "I'm just glad to know that. By the way, Chris…what kind of leaf is this?"

Chris grinned evilly. "Oh, you'll see."

With Courtney, she was poking her green jello with her fork tentatively. Duncan scoffed at her. "Courtney, most of yours is _green jello_. The bugs and fish are only in the middle. Take a few bites of the jello and we're one point closer to winning."

Courtney blushed. "I just don't like jello, alright? And if this is so easy, why don't you just eat yours…" She paused. "Did you just call me by my actual name?"

"It's your name, princess. Don't get all worked up." Duncan picked up his fork. "And I will eat it." He forked up a piece of bear and after a hesitation, cut up four more pieces and speared all of them in a row onto the fork.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Courtney snapped, though there was fear in her eyes. "Make this point, Duncan!"

"I will, pushy!" And with that, he choked down all five bites. Everyone from both sides watched as he pulled a face, but swallowed.

"And, the Killer Bass are in the lead with Duncan scoring a point!" Chris shouted to the camera.

"Duncan, you're awesome!" Courtney cried, throwing her arms around him. Then she blushed. "Uh, I mean…good work." She pulled her arms back. When she turned around, she didn't see Duncan wink at Geoff, or Geoff thumb-up him back.

"Well, here goes," Bridgette said, forking up her mysterious-leaf salad.

"Good luck," Geoff said helpfully.

"Thanks." And then she popped it into her mouth. "Two leaves down, three to go!"

Bridgette successfully ate three other leaves and the Killer Bass were in the lead by two.

"Good job, Bridge!" Geoff exclaimed, hi-fiving her.

Slowly, everyone on both sides began to eat. Owen broke all records and earned two points for eating his whole chicken. Only Heather and Lindsay had yet to eat theirs.

"Okay, there's like no way I'm eating this," Heather said, not bothering with her utensils and crossing her arms.

"Yeah, I thought there was going to be, like, salad." Lindsay sighed. "This looks fattening to me."

Gwen glared at both of them after disposing of her utensils and the rest of her food. "Okay, either you two can suck it up and eat, or one of you can go home tonight, because everyone else ate theirs."

Heather turned to her. "No way, goth girl. This was, like, not part of the deal."

"Yeah, sorry Gwen…I just can't risk my health," Lindsay said cheerily.

"Whatever," Gwen said, sitting back down. "If we lose, it's not like we're going to have any trouble deciding who gets kicked out."

"All right," Chris said, rubbing his hands together. "If Courtney eats this, then the Killer Bass win!"

Courtney made a face at the jello, but moved her fork towards the green lump. "Okay…"

"You can do it, Courtney!" Duncan said, watching her and her plate.

"Okay." She made herself take a big breath, and internally gave herself a pep talk. _Okay Courtney, like we worked on. Suck it up and do it! For the Killer Bass…_She gulped, then dug a bit of the gelatin out and popped it in her mouth, then held her breath so she wouldn't have to taste it. She could still feel it sliding down her throat like a frog. In a quick succession she forked four more bites and ate without too much trouble.

"And the Killer Bass win!" Chris announced. While the Screaming Gophers sulked, everyone engulfed Courtney.

"Good job, princess," Duncan said, surprisingly without a smirk.

She didn't take the princess thing too seriously. "Thanks."

"Yeah, Courtney!" Bridgette shouted.

"Alright, calm down everyone. This means the Screaming Gophers will be the ones at the campfire tonight. Everyone on the Killer Bass, you're safe…for today."

"That's long enough for me," Geoff said, grinning broadly.

At the Screaming Gopher girl's cabin, Gwen was sitting up in bed while Heather and Lindsay assumed identical positions of fixing their hair while sitting cross-legged on their beds, staring into mirrors.

"Way to go, girls," Gwen snapped. "Thanks to you, the Killer Bass are one player ahead."

"Oh, calm it, goth girl. Why're you so worried? We're the ones that didn't eat it."

"Then shouldn't you be a little more concerned?" Gwen said, hopping off her bed and slamming the door behind her.

"Off to meet Trent?" Heather shouted after her sarcastically. But she couldn't hide it, maybe she was worried…

"Who's Trent?" Lindsay asked.

Sitting around the campfire, the only ones worried about anything were Heather and Lindsay. Sure enough, when there was one marshmallow left, both Heather and Lindsay were still sitting on their logs.

"All right, guys. I know you two and Beth have an alliance, so it's really no secret that the last marshmallow goes to…" He picked up the marshmallow. "Heather."

Heather smirked and took her marshmallow from Chris. "This is just too easy," she muttered to herself.

"Lindsay, sorry, but tonight you will board the Boat of Losers," Chris said, sounding disappointed that the prettiest girl on the island was leaving.

"Bye, Lindsay!" someone in the trees and Beth cried out at the same time.

"Tyler!" Lindsay cried.

Everyone stared in mixed astonishment and disgust, astonishment because someone from a different team was at the campfire, and disgust that they both ran up to each other and started to kiss.

"Enough, enough!" Chris shouted. "The Dock of Shame awaits, Lindsay!"

"Sorry, Tyler, I have to go," she said, pecking him on the cheek and getting onto the boat.

As the boat sped out of sight, Chris turned back to the Screaming Gophers (and Tyler). "Okay, guys, I have nothing else for you. Go back to your cabins, your next challenge starts bright and early tomorrow."

_How'd you like? It's pretty long and most of the chapters will be this way with the punctuation and capitalization all (hopefully) acceptable. Each chapter will be an episode so they will all be over the few- thousand-word mark. Also, no one will be OOC in any way; I'm trying to avoid that since none of the characters are like that. I'm trying to put all the couples in equally, but maybe a bit more of Courtney/Duncan because they're just really cute together. You might notice that there are some parts that I copied from the real shows in my future chapters (like Courtney falling asleep on top of Duncan and some of the quotes), but no copyright infringement intended. There will be a little author's not from me after every chapter like this one, sorry if you're bored, but you can skip my boring thoughts if you want…_

_NO PROMISES FOR UPDATING. I WILL UPDATE WHEN I'M INSPIRED OR BORED._

_ALSO, I'M NOT AFRAID OF FLAMES. BUT IF THERE ARE NO FLAMES IT WOULD BE APPRECIATED BECAUSE IT MAKES ME ALL HAPPY INSIDE…_


	2. Diving for Treasure

Diving for Treasure

**Diving for Treasure**

A Total Drama Island Story

_A/N: Last chapter, Lindsay and Heather both did not eat the food that would propel them to the next day. However, due to the alliance, Lindsay was voted off. (Yeah, I know, I hate Heather too, but I had to make this realistic.)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own TDI. Why is this world so cruel?? _

Around three in the morning, Bridgette woke up, her throat burning and itching. Carefully trying not to disturb Courtney on the bunk above her by creaking too loudly, she opened the cabin door and made for the bathroom.

Eyes still bleary with sleep, she rubbed them and peered into the mirror, opening her mouth.

Her throat and the back of her mouth were covered in red, itchy bumps.

She screamed and immediately bent her head over the sink, trying to fill her itching mouth with as much cool, clean water (well, as clean as you could get in the conditions).

The door flung open with a crash and Courtney stumbled in. "Bridgette! Is everything alright? I heard a scream."

"No," Bridgette gurgled with her mouth full of water. "Everything is_ not_ alright. The leaves Chris made me eat yesterday were poison ivy or poison oak. Or both."

"Oh wow," Courtney said. "Um, can I do anything to help?"

"Thanks, but probably not unless you have some sort of itching medication that's edible."

"No…sorry."

The door opened again, and this time Geoff flew in, shirt half-unbuttoned. Even under the circumstances, both girls giggled. "Bridgette! Are you okay?"

"Um, no, not really…the leaves I ate yesterday were poison ivy or oak."

Geoff paused. "That's all? I thought you were being attacked by a bear."

"If it's not that bad, then you can just leave," Bridgette said, rubbing her mouth and glaring.

Geoff backed away and walked back to the cabin.

"Are you going to be okay for today's challenge?" Courtney said, opening the door for the both of them.

"I don't know…it depends on what it is." Bridgette jumped slightly. "Shoot, my stomach is all itchy too, on the inside…if that's possible."

"You better stay in the cabin, Bridgette," Courtney consoled, watching Bridgette lay down and climbing into her own bunk. "I'll tell Chris that you're not well."

"You better," Bridgette said, rolling around in a fit of giggles because of her itchy body.

The Killer Bass and Screaming Gophers gathered around Chris, who was standing on the dock in front of the lake.

"Hey, Courtney, have you seen Bridge?" Geoff said with his hat slightly askew.

"Yeah, the ivy or oak made her all itchy so she's sitting this one out. She's still in the cabin."

"So it's even again?" Trent asked. "Eight and eight?"

Courtney shrugged. "I guess."

"Excellent," Heather said to herself, grinning.

"Excuse me, what was that?" Courtney asked bitingly, moving up next to Heather.

"I said, 'Aw, too bad for you'," Heather replied.

"Alright people!" Chris shouted unnecessarily, because the campers were pretty much silent. "I know you guys are still sick from yesterday's challenge." At that moment, Tyler ran off behind a bush and started to puke. "Speak of the Devil. Anyway, I have two words to say to you guys: _too bad_. Your challenge today will begin and end same as always."

He dug into his khaki shorts pocket and pulled out an orange slip of paper. "Today, you will be diving to the bottom of the lake to retrieve one of these tickets. You have about an hour in you oxygen tanks to find the trunk holding the tickets, break the lock, get the ticket, and lock the trunk again. Any of you that do not come back with a ticket do not participate in the celebration. The team with the least amount of tickets joins me at the campfire tonight."

"Celebration of what? Living off the land?" Duncan said.

"No. On these tickets there are words."

"So he's a genius, too," Duncan muttered. Chris heard but ignored.

"The words will be like, 'buffet', 'use of hot tub', 'party'. Stuff like that. If you get on of the tickets that says these, that's what you win."

"But that hot tub is, like, ours," Heather objected.

"It'll only be temporary, Heather," he replied.

"Buffet?!" Owen shouted. "Where's that diving gear?"

"I see we're excited," Chris said. "Very well, the stuff is over in that wooden box. You have ten minutes to get changed and be back at the lake. Any who are late, we will start your oxygen tanks without you." Everyone was silent and unmoving. "You're ten minutes starts now!"

"Uh-uh," LeShawna declared, wagging a finger. "There ain't no way you're getting me in of those scuba suits."

Duncan shrugged. "If she doesn't have to, then I don't want to."

Courtney and Heather for once, agreed. "Those things are totally out of fashion," Heather said, crossing her arms.

Chris just shrugged. "If you guys think you're getting a jump start, sorry. You start the same as everyone else."

Everyone else grabbed a suit and diving mask and hid behind a tree. It was no surprise that Owen was the first back, running faster than Chris would have thought Owen-ly possible.

"I'm winning that buffet!" Owen shouted through his mask, grabbing a tank and strapping it to his massive back. Chris pressed a button and the oxygen flow began. Owen dived in without a second thought. "Oh, shoot…I forgot I can't swim that well."

Chris shrugged to the camera. "His problem now. Here come the rest of the contestants."

Soon the whole lake was filled with campers, struggling to swim to the bottom.

Cody silently screamed bloody murder (in bubbles) as a tentacle closed around his ankle and started pulling him deeper and deeper.

Gwen thought about saving him, then decided to nix it. She was here to win.

Owen, who before diving in had strapped polka-dotted floatation devices around his arms, was still floating on the top of the water, pedaling and attempting to get back to shore. Harold hadn't even changed into his gear.

It turned out that LeShawna reached the trunk first, but couldn't open it. Duncan shoved her out of the way, took a paper clip from his swimming trunks pocket, and quickly picked the lock. He then took a ticket from the top of the pile, but before LeShawna could grab one, he closed it and re-locked it.

"No cheating," he mouthed, then grinned and swam off.

LeShawna tried the lock again, and it opened due to Duncan's meddling. She took a ticket and closed it, but when she saw Heather swimming towards her, she decided not to lock it, but instead mouthed, "It's open," then swam for the surface.

Courtney was watching this from afar and quickly flapped her feet to propel herself towards Heather. "That's cheating!" she mouthed in bubbles.

"Hey, I didn't ask her to," Heather replied through her mask, then took a ticket and closed and locked the box.

"Ugh, that snob," Courtney thought, opening the box and taking a ticket. She had an urge to make sure that hers had something good, but when she checked her oxygen tank, it read that she had about ten more minutes, just enough time to get her to the surface.

She quickly turned and locked the trunk again as she saw a horde of Screaming Gophers including Trent, Gwen, and Beth. Then she pushed off hard, from the bottom.

In ten minutes, the only people yet to break the surface were Cody and DJ.

So far, the Killer Bass had won the buffet (much to Owens's disappointment) and the hot tub. The rest who had come back had gotten tickets that read, _Sorry, this ticket doesn't win you anything. Don't even try to convince me. Seriously, you could get really messed up, _including Courtney, who was furious.

"That is so unfair!" Courtney hissed out of Chris's earshot. "He never told us anything about those!" Then she turned on Harold, who was sitting on the dock. "And _you_! You didn't even get _in_ the water!"

"_Excuse_ me, Miss Priss," Harold said in his usual thick, asthma-ridden voice. "But I have better things to do than dive into a lake for—" He dug out his inhaler from his pocket and took a puff. "--pieces of _paper_." He sniffed. "I happen to have other skills."

Courtney groaned. "Like what? Getting sick? Being totally useless to this team?"

"Uh, like my abilities to charm the ladies, ninja skills…"

"Yeah, you're totally charming me right now!"

"It's not my fault if you're difficult to please…"

"Ugh! If we lose I am so voting you out!" Courtney shrieked angrily, kicking him in the stomach and returning to the Bass in a huff.

Just then, DJ broke the surface with his arm around Cody's waist.

"Oh my god, Cody, you're alive!" Izzy shouted. "I thought he was like, a goner, but not me, no, I have a diver's license, so I had this one in the bag."

"Great, he's alive," Gwen said in a monotone. "Can we see what we won now?"

"Nevermind _that_," Heather said. "Who won? DJ came back last, so us, right?"

"Sorry, Heather, but DJ was only late because he was saving a fellow campmate. Killer Bass win!"

Heather sneered at him but turned it into an unfriendly grin. "Of course I respect your decisions." Much like Courtney had done earlier, she stomped over to Cody. "Way to go, 'Codymeister'. Thanks to you, we lost another player. You are such a useless freak." Then she turned to Owen, who was still floating hopelessly on top of the water, the polka-dot floaties slowly deflating by his sides. "And you didn't even make it under the water. Perfect."

Meanwhile, with the Killer Bass, everyone was cheering DJ.

"DJ, that was great! How'd you save Cody?" Courtney cried as the Killer Bass cheered.

"Actually, I just found him passed out at the bottom of the lake when I picked up my ticket so…I figured what the heck? I couldn't just let the dude die out there." DJ blushed.

"So, what's on your ticket?" Courtney asked, trying to peer over DJ's shoulders, which were a good few inches above her head.

"Erm…it just says, _Sorry, this ticket doesn't win you anything. Don't even try to convince me. Seriously, you could get really messed up._"

"Not, you too," Courtney groaned.

"Hey, we're better off than the Gophers," DJ remarked. "They didn't win anything except for a stereo and some other music-related stuff."

Courtney's mouth dropped. "So you mean only three of the tickets had anything that could win us something?"

DJ shrugged. "I guess so."

At that moment Bridgette came out of the cabin, smiling brightly. "Hey, I feel a lot better, guys," she said. "Oh my gosh…did we win?"

"Yep, but Chris pulled another fast one on us," Duncan said, throwing his, _Sorry, this ticket doesn't win you anything. Don't even try to convince me. Seriously, you could get really messed up, _ticket into the lake.

Bridgette took a ticket and read the message out loud. "Oh, sorry. So was the challenge hard? I heard all about it from the cabin."

"No, not really," Geoff said airily, brushing off his shoulder like it was the easiest thing in the world. "That's just the way I roll."

"Alrighty, then," Bridgette said, backing away from Geoff.

"Well, we're not going to the campfire tonight!" DJ said cheerily.

The Screaming Gophers, for the second time in a row, gathered around the campfire to sit on their logs. Chris just smiled for the camera.

"These really haven't been good days for you, man," he said to the campers. "So I'm just going to cut right to the chase. The marshmallows go to Trent…LeShawna…Beth…Izzy…Gwen…and Heather."

Everyone who had been called got up and popped the marshmallow into their mouth, except for Heather, who threw it to the ground. Owen picked it up and ate it.

"You two, Owen and Cody. Owen…you didn't even make it under the surface so, yeah, big disappointment there. Cody, man, you had to be saved by a person on the other team! Get it together, dude!"

Cody hung his head. Subtle was not one of Chris's finest points.

"Okay, guys. It all ends with this. The last marshmallow goes to…" He picked up the marshmallow and pointed at Cody, then Owen, then Cody, then Owen… "Owen."

"Whoopee!" he shrieked, jumping up and tripping over his own feet. He knocked the plate of marshmallows out of Chris's arms, therefore making the last one land in his mouth.

"Yum," he said, getting up.

"Cody, sorry, but you were a wimp out there today. The Boat of Losers awaits."

Everyone watched in silence as Cody got up, tore his pants on the log (he didn't notice till later), and boarded the boat without another word. Gwen couldn't help smirking under her breath at Cody's polka-dotted boxers.

Chris turned to the campers. "Okay, tomorrow, your challenge will take place outdoors. All I have to say is that I hope you guys are cozy tonight, because…well, you'll find out in due time. Pull it together, Gophers."

_Okay, I know I said I was going to put more of Courtney/Duncan, but there really wasn't much of a chance, so next time I promise things will "heat up" in the woods with all the couples. The next episode might be loosely based on "The Sucky Outdoors", but no secrets! Secondly, I really have nothing against Cody, but I found him sort of like an extra character that's getting petty and annoying, so I just did away with him. It makes it easier for me so that I don't have to keep on remembering to put him in. Keep a lookout for updates, I will probably be updating next week._

_NO FLAMES YET! HAPPY, HAPPY. THANKS TO BLOKAZOO, TEERA-CHAN, AND A FEW FUTURE OTHERS THAT WILL REVIEW! I LOVE YOU ALL!! _


	3. Into the Wild

Into the Wild

**Into the Wild**

A Total Drama Island Story

_A/N: This chapter is pretty much 'The Sucky Outdoors' with a twist on it. I have copied some of the moments and quotes from the Sucky Outdoors, so you can't say I didn't give credit. Enjoy, no copyright infringement intended. _

_Disclaimer: I. DO. NOT. OWN. TDI! Why am I not a genius like them? _

The Screaming Gophers silently dragged themselves over to the fire pit, where the Bass were already sitting, looking cheerful. Heather immediately took the log nearest to Chris, putting her chin in her hands. Everyone else sat down on their log as well, except Owen, who missed the log and fell onto the ground.

"I see we're all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," Chris remarked, eyeing Owen, who had managed to get onto his log despite his fatigue and massive weight. However, he had fallen asleep and was slumped to the side. "Well, no matter how tired we are, or rather how tired _you _are, you guys are doing the challenge anyway. Sorry."

"You look good today, Chris," Heather volunteered, trying to charm him.

"Thanks. Yes, I am fully aware of the fact," Chris replied, brushing an imaginary speck of dust from his shoulder. "But anyway, today you guys are really going to appreciate how great the great outdoors really is. Tonight you spend a night in the woods."

Without waiting for any snide remarks (namely from Duncan), he gestured to two piles of backpacks, nine for the Bass, seven for the Gophers. "Bass, you guys are the blue backpacks. You'll all pick one up on your way out. One of the backpacks holds a tent. The others have canteens. The tent holder will drink from the lake. Gophers, you are the red packs."

"So, what?" Heather asked, dropping the charm act, "We just, like, tromp out into the woods to some random spot and get eaten alive by bugs and bears?"

"As much as I wish that was legal," Chris muttered to the camera, then raising his voice so the campers could hear, "No, each team has a specified, half-safe spot. You, Bass—due to your water-related name, you guys'll be spending the night in the crevice beneath a waterfall. Gophers, due to your…uh…gopher-related name, you will be spending the night in a large tunnel under the ground."

"Sorry, Chris, but that's not really my scene—" Heather started, but LeShawna cut her off.

"You'll do it and like it, understand?" she said in her usual street-smart, no-nonsense way.

"Yes, ma'am, Captain," Heather replied sarcastically, but otherwise shut up.

The Killer Bass seemed cheerful enough, probably due to the fact that they wouldn't be exposed to man-eating woodchucks and rabbits and stuff.

"So what's up?" Duncan said, nudging Courtney. "Frog in your throat? You haven't been making your usual CIT comments today."

"Shut up. I'm just thinking of ways to win the challenge, that's all," Courtney bit back. "I can't say the same for you, slacker."

"Whatever," Duncan said. "The only reason I don't think much is because you do it for us." He assumed his trademark position of his hands behind his head.

Chris, who had been letting the cameramen shoot the whole conversation, was trying to get the attention back on himself. "Guys! I need a little camera time here. GUYS!"

Everyone silenced.

"Ah, that's better. As I was saying, pick up your bags. It's go time." He lowered his voice like a spy.

"Dude, do us a favor and never do that again," Geoff said while hoisting his backpack onto his back.

"I was just trying to be cool," Chris muttered. "Way to ruin the moment."

Chef Hatchet emerged from the mess hall to guide the Killer Bass to the right waterfall. When they got there, Katie and Sadie gasped in unison. "Oh no! It's flooded!"

Courtney looked at the both of them, mildly surprised. "You're actually worried about this?"

"Uh, yeah," Sadie said while Katie nodded. "Like, it could totally ruin my hair. It gets all frizzy if I wet it."

"I'm sooooo concerned," Courtney snapped. "Chef, couldn't you help—chef?"

He was gone. They could hear his heavy footsteps on the rock above them.

Courtney went into action mode. "Bridgette, Geoff, and Duncan, you guys help me build a barrier with some rock. It'll keep the water out. Then Harold, and Katie and Sadie, you guys scoop out the water when we're done. Tyler, you can help DJ set up the tent when it's all dry."

"Roger that," Duncan smirked.

"Ogre," she muttered, then turned away and blushed.

While the girls (Courtney and Bridgette) and the guys (Geoff and Duncan) went to find some rock, they parted. While hoisting a rock back into the cave (and hitting Tyler by the sound of it), Bridgette asked, "Guy problems?"

Courtney absentmindedly threw a rock back, hitting Tyler again. She was thinking about a certain person… "Huh?"

"DUNCAN!" Bridgette almost shouted, trying to overcome the rush and sound of the waterfall.

That woke her out of her reverie. "What about him?"

Bridgette just threw another rock, luckily missing Tyler. "Just saying…"

"What're you saying?" Courtney replied, tossing another rock rather fiercely.

"Oh, nothing. He's just really bad and a slacker, isn't he?" Bridgette said offhandedly.

"No," Courtney interjected, too quickly. "I mean, uh, no. He just has a different attitude about work than me and you."

"Ah, okay," Bridgette said thoughtfully. After working in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, Courtney wiped a hand on her forehead with her sooty hand. "We're done!"

Surprisingly, when they turned around, they found Harold shaping the rocks into neat rectangles to stack on top of each other.

"Maybe he does have some skills," Courtney said. "Looks like the barrier is already done."

"Um, yeah, I guess…" Bridgette replied. "Here's the only problem: We seem to be stuck out here."

"Nix that thing I said about Harold." Courtney raised her voice. "Harold, you idiot, how're we going to get back in?"

"Cool it, princess," Harold said, quickly regretting his words as Courtney pinched him over the barrier. Man, he'd really have to give up on adopting Duncan's speech… "I made a door."

To the quartet's amazement (Duncan and Geoff had shown up just as the pinch occurred), a fully-operative door opened. They quickly got inside before more water could gush through.

"Bad news, guys," Katie said, looking fixedly down at her feet. "My totally cute new suede shoes are completely soaked."

"Who cares?" Courtney snapped. "Start scooping!"

Over with the Gophers, they hadn't needed to build a barrier, but were worse off anyway. As Trent and Gwen had started setting up the tent, they realized the tunnel was inhabited by quite a number of—incidentally—gophers. Angry ones, to be precise. "Is this Chris's idea of a joke?" Gwen shouted, trying to kick away one of the offensive rodents.

That, and there was no bathroom.

"Wait, guys! I think I found where we're supposed to pee!" LeShawna said, quite a ways away. "There's a pit here labeled 'Relieve Yourself'."

"Ewwwww..." Heather moaned. "I can totally hold it in."

"Uh, yeah, me too…" LeShawna said, backing away towards the tents. "Judging by the condition of that pit, I could probably hold it for the rest of my life."

"Ooh…sorry, that was probably me," Owen said sheepishly. As everyone looked at him disgustedly, he added, "I can't help it!"

"Slight problem, guys," Trent interrupted before Owen could go into details.

"Oh, what, _besides_ the fact that there is a pit for a bathroom and angry gophers?" Heather cried. Beth nodded fervently.

"You guys are crazy," Izzy giggled. "These gophers, are like, so nice and funny and cute." She screamed as one tried to bite her finger off. "Okay…never mind that."

"Yeah…this 'large tunnel' is not big enough for our tent," Trent replied, ignoring Izzy while trying to press a pole deeper into the ground.

"Oh, perfect!" Heather said, pulling a face and flopping down on the ground.

"We could do with a little help here," Gwen said. "Get you butt up here and help, Heather!"

"I don't do tents," she sneered. "I'll play dodge ball with you barbarians, but this is really not my thing."

"So what_ is_ this thing that you speak of?" LeShawna replied, putting a hand on her hip.

"I am _popular_," Heather said, getting up and putting one defiant hand on _her _hip. "Unlike some people around here. That'll solve all my problems."

"Um…guys?" Everyone looked over. Izzy was standing there, crazy gophers clinging to every part of her. "I think I need some help."

"Me too," Heather muttered. "Help from a psychologist."

Meanwhile, Courtney's master plan wasn't going too well either. There were no buckets, and not even all the Bass could scoop out the water fast enough.

"It's hopeless," Courtney said, staring at the deep water with a gusty sigh.

"So you mean all that work I did was wasted?" Harold interrupted. "Gosh." He dug out his inhaler and took a puff. Courtney supposed that being angry made him breathless.

"Tyler broke the tent poles!" DJ announced, trying to disentangle Tyler from a mess of string, canvas, and broken metal bars.

"I thought it was firewood!" Tyler shot back accusatorially from beneath the canvas.

"Well, I'm cool with sleeping outside," Bridgette suggested.

"Me too!" Geoff said quickly.

Duncan shrugged. "Whatever floats this boat."

Courtney sighed sharply. "Fine, go with her idea! Sleep outside!"

Duncan just paused at the door to the barrier. "You have to join us unless you want to get soaked."

Courtney gazed sadly around at the broken tent and flooded cave. "Fine, but if I'm sore in the morning, I'm totally blaming you."

He just walked outside. "Wouldn't be the first time."

A little while later, Courtney had to admit she was enjoying herself, a little. Maybe she could just appreciate the great outdoors…The sky was just so pretty when it was pitch black and sprinkled with stars. She didn't want to go to sleep, but she was totally drained from the day's work.

Katie couldn't sleep much either, nor could Bridgette. Sadie was asleep, snoring just as loudly if not louder than the guys. But around midnight or a little past, everyone was sound asleep, lulled into unconsciousness by the steady rhythm of the waterfall.

Beth could tell it was dark because everyone but her, LeShawna, and Heather were asleep. Gwen had fallen asleep straight away on top of Trent, but the other girls weren't having such an easy time. Not to mention that Owens's earth-shaking snores pierced and echoed in the tunnel, making sleep impossible. Izzy had fallen asleep as well and seemed to think of the snores as a lullaby. Hardly strange.

"I'd like to make the impossible possible, here," Heather said, getting up kicking Owen awake. "You freak, stop snoring!"

Amazingly, with a snort, Owen rolled over and the snores silenced.

"There," Heather said, crossing her arms with a triumphant look. "Now if you two don't mind, I'm getting my beauty sleep."

"I'll protect you, Heather!" Beth volunteered, curling up like a guard dog in front of Heather.

"Her face might not be so beautiful when I'm through with her," LeShawna thought, bitterly lying down next to Izzy and trying desperately to sink into sleep and leave this nightmare of an island behind her.

Courtney woke up on something warm and comfortable. Something that was breathing, and was wearing a skull t-shirt.

"Morning, sunshine," she heard a familiar voice say beneath her. She looked up. The expression on Duncan's face was smug.

"Ohmygod," she shrieked, jumping up as a reflex. "Ew!" She stood up and crossed her arms, pointing one finger at him in accusation. "You were _cuddling_ me."

Duncan propped himself up on his hands. "I was just calmly lying on my back trying to catch a few zs. You were the one snuggling up to _me_."

"You are such an ogre." She longed to call him a curse word, but she figured that wouldn't look good on national TV.

"Ah, I've been called worse," Duncan said, putting his hands behind his head and sinking back to the ground. He had only just hit the dirt when Courtney shrieked. Everyone else jolted awake, Tyler banging his head on a rock.

"Guys, this is no time for sleeping! Get your bags; we really need to get back before the Gophers."

Duncan stared at her amazedly. "You weren't wearing that pack a minute ago. How did you get that thing…?"

"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!" she said, ignoring him and throwing all of her teammates a backpack.

No matter how fast the Bass got going, they weren't fast enough. The Gophers arrived seconds before they did, panting and screaming and attempting to chase angry gophers away with sticks. Chris just chuckled and made no attempt to help.

"And Gophers," he said, clearly enunciating each syllable. "You've come in only seconds before your opponents. Well, seconds or none, Bass, you're joining me at the campfire tonight."

The Gophers didn't have the strength to cheer. Owen tore one more gopher (who had been nibbling his shirt) off, taking his shirt with it, and threw the animal back into the forest. It hissed at him and darted away.

Everyone stared at him. "That. Was. The. Best night of my life!" he shouted, and then fell in a heap at the campers' feet, in a deep, deep slumber.

The Bass gathered around the campfire through the acrid smell of burning wood and smoke.

"Sorry guys, the fire pit's acting weird," Chris apologized insincerely. "But too bad. Anyway, no time for chit chat, I have a massage appointment in an hour. Marshmallows for Courtney, Duncan, Bridgette, Geoff, Beth, and Katie." He held up the last marshmallow. "Blah blah blah…last marshmallow…last chance…Sadie."

"Yippee…" she said in a monotone, dead tired. "Just throw it here, Chris."

Chris turned to the camera. "I really get paid too little to do this. But anyway, Tyler, you were proven useless when your team needed you. As a result, the Boat of Losers is waiting at the dock."

"Who needs you guys anyway?" Tyler yelled to no one in particular, attempting to be buff and athletic, but falling over a rock on his way to the Dock of Shame. Everyone watched in stunned quiet as Tyler shouted to the boat man, "Well, go already! I hate this stupid island!"

Chris watched him go for a second. "Um, yeah…dramatic exit. Well, I've got to get going, I have more knots in my back then …uh…well, I don't do puns, so, yeah…join us next time on Total Drama Island!"

_I really think this chapter is kind of weird, but what the heck, I still like it. I did incorporate that cute moment from the Sucky Outdoors with Courtney/Duncan into this quite well, so I'm happy. Maybe it was a bit unoriginal…but, whatever, the next chapter will be better. That'll probably be up on either Saturday (tomorrow) or sometime next week. It's going a bit slowly because I haven't thought of a challenge, but I have a solid, funny beginning. Also just as a note, the things that Chris says get really old, so I'm trying to change it up a bit each time. Don't know how that's working. So…review if you like?_

_WOOT! THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING, ALL REVIEWERS! YOU MAKE MY DAY. ___


	4. Interlocked

Interlocked

**Interlocked**

A Total Drama Island Story

_A/N: I hope you're all enjoying the story…I've been getting inspired a lot lately, so new chapters are just pouring out. You can check the chapter list posted on my profile for the full list of what's to come and what's already published. _

_Disclaimer: No TDI for me… (sob sob) _

The Killer Bass boys' cabin all awoke at the same time, probably due to the sound of grinding, battering metal above.

"Chris…" Geoff muttered, rubbing the spot where he had banged his head when he had shot up in bed.

Duncan peered out the window. "It's him and his stupid helicopter."

Geoff checked his watch. "It's like, four in the morning, dude. Get a life!" he shouted to Chris, as if he could hear.

Things weren't going much better in the girls' cabin either, as Chef Hatchet banged open the door and barged in, ringing a cowbell.

"We're not cows!" Bridgette yelled above the clanging. "Shut it!"

Surprisingly, he stopped and grunted, gesturing for them to follow him.

"Hold it, chef," Heather said, climbing out of bed. "Beth, you need to help me get ready. Could you, like, wait for two more hours?"

His grunt this time meant no, and he seized Heather's elbow and dragged her out. "Wait, hold it! I'm not even dressed for the day!"

Courtney, who was perky, fully awake, and dressed in her usual pressed outfit, was the first of the girls to meet up with Chris.

Bridgette tripped and fell into Geoff, who supported her up. "Thanks, Geoff." He was still grinning and holding her arm. "Umm…let go, please!" But she still couldn't help grinning up at him.

"Hello campers!" Chris greeted with fake chumminess.

DJ threw an apple at him. "I want to go to sleep."

"Well, I see we're all morning people," Chris said grumpily, gingerly putting a hand to the spot where DJ's apple had hit his forehead. "Anyway, we woke you up to reacquaint you to your new-partners-in-crime."

"Ooh, do we get to wear catsuits?" Izzy gushed. "Meow." She swiped the air with one clawed hand.

"No, just a pun, Izzy," Chris said, taking a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. "See? Partners-in-_crime_? _Handcuffs_?"

No one even registered this.

"Ah-hem, right," Chris said. "We know your enemies. We watch you guys. So that's why you'll be getting to know them a little better today. You will be handcuffed together for the rest of the day."

Courtney had a pretty good idea who she was going to be paired with. "No!"

"Excited, princess?" Duncan said, nudging her. "You and me, the whole day."

"I'm thrilled," she answered, blushing.

"Chef?" Chris trilled, sounding most unlike himself and more like a bird.

"You know, what, dude? Don't do that, either," Geoff said, referring to the day before and Chris pretending to be a spy.

"Couldn't you at least pretend I'm cool?" Chris whined. Chef appeared from the bushes, as if just waiting for his moment to appear.

"Those few, if you please," Chris said, gesturing to a row of campers. Quick as a flash, Courtney found herself connected to Duncan by the wrist. Heather didn't seem much happier with Gwen, or Harold with Geoff.

"Ew, his dweeb hands are all sweaty," Geoff complained as the Chef locked the chains.

"I am not a dweeb," Harold replied. "I just have various medical issues. Like my pores are abnormally big and sweat—"

"Dude, TMI," Geoff said, wrinkling his nose at the thought.

"Some people just don't have respect for people with poor immune systems," Harold sniffed, pulling out his asthma inhaler and puffing as if to punctuate his point.

Geoff shared a look with DJ, who looked tortured as he was being connected to Sadie and she rambled on about a big shoe sale she had missed while being here.

Meanwhile, Trent and Izzy, Owen and LeShawna, Bridgette and Beth were paired up, and Katie was put in the threesome with Harold and Geoff.

"Hey guys," Katie said, waving cheerfully though her chains. "We're going to have so much fun today. This is just like a circle of love, isn't it?"

"Someone appreciates me," Harold conceded as Geoff groaned.

Courtney was having an altogether miserable time with Duncan. "Why'd I have to paired up with you?"

"Cause you hate me?" Duncan suggested, too smug. "Or do you?"

"I definitely do," Courtney clarified, leaning down to tie her shoelaces but instead intertwining Duncan's finger to her shoe. Inside, Courtney's heart was pounding in a weird, jagged rhythm. Could he be onto something?

"Well, I'm not having too much fun either, princess." He dug his finger out of her shoe and massaged where the blood had been cut off.

"To the mess hall, guys!" Chris announced, interrupting all conversations. He had been watching with rabid interest as various groups got themselves in various different situations, most involving misplaced body parts.

Everyone grudgingly started to the hall, Trent wincing as his arm was bent over backward around Izzy's torso.

No one was having much fun eating, either. "Dude, stop hogging all the gruel," LeShawna ordered while trying to get her spoon in edgewise and Owen madly dug around the bowl.

"No way," he mumbled with a mouth full of gray oatmeal.

"Ugh," LeShawna grumbled, dropping her spoon with a clatter and dejectedly putting her head in the one available hand.

At the Killer Bass table, everyone was eating quietly.

"I think I lost my appetite," Geoff said, depressed, while eyeing Harold digging into his gruel with just his face.

Chris burst in, looking happy. "We have another challenge for you guys! A scavenger hunt, handcuffed to your partner."

Courtney banged her head down onto the table.

"Finish your breakfasts, guys, and meet me by the forest in oh-five minutes."

"Can't you just say five?" Geoff piped up.

"Give me one, will you?" Chris snapped babyishly, stomping his foot and storming out.

By five minutes, everyone was already at the edge of the forest, too disgusted by their partners to even eat. Heather and Gwen were facing away from each other, glaring at the air.

"Having fun, are we?" Chris said cheekily. Another apple bounced off his head. "Do you guys have a problem with me and apples?" he whined.

When everyone chorused yes, he glared at them. "Well, no matter how much you hate me, you're doing this anyway. Two teams to each part of the forest, except the threesome."

He handed out a list to each of the campers, which had a list of everything on the scavenger hunt. "Alright, Courtney and Duncan, and Bridgette and Beth, you will be in the upper left-hand corner of the forest. Threesome, lower right-hand corner. DJ and Sadie, and Trent and Izzy, upper right-hand corner. Owen and LeShawna, and Heather and Gwen, lower left-hand corner."

He paused dramatically to let this sink in. "Go, campers, go!"

Courtney felt that it was oddly quiet as she and Duncan set off to the upper left of the forest. Bridgette and Beth were already far ahead, but for some strange reason, she had no desire for winning.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she was surprised and screamed slightly as her foot got caught in a rabbit hole.

She desperately tugged at her foot but the hole stubbornly hung on. Duncan just smirked, shaking his head slowly as if this was a complete spectacle.

"Need some help?"

Courtney glared at him. "I wouldn't ask for your help if it was between you and a man-eating boar," she declared, grasping her ankle with one hand and pulling up.

"Here." And with that, he put his hands on her waist and pulled her out.

Courtney stared at him, mouth agape with fury. "What is wrong with you?" she demanded, brushing herself off. "I did _not _give you permission to touch me like that."

"Well, you clearly needed my help," he said, not at all irked.

"Ugh, you jerk," she muttered under her breath, storming away from him and momentarily forgetting she was bound to him by the wrist. She was positive her face was red.

Beth and Bridgette were feverishly arguing about which way to go.

"Go right, that path it's wider!" Bridgette suggested, her face coloring from the heat.

"No, left is better! My inner sense is telling me!" Beth argued.

"Fine! You know, let's go left. If I get attacked by a bear, I am so having Courtney call my lawyer," Bridgette answered, allowing herself to follow Beth deep into the woods.

By this time, Courtney and Duncan appeared at the fork in the forest.

"Which way did they go?" Courtney asked, still not looking at him.

"Um…right?"

"Oh, whatever." They both walked down the right path.

With the threesome, both Katie and Geoff were gaping at Harold as he listed his numerous medical problems in alphabetical order.

"Uh, let's see…ears to big, eyes bloodshot for E. This is because of the overgrowth of my _kristokai_."

"Your kristo-_what_?" Geoff asked, completely muddled.

"My _kristokai_, dear misinformed friend," Harold answered rather snottily.

"Um…okay," Katie answered, nervously avoiding a tree and trying to drown out Harold's list by humming in her head.

Heather and Gwen were screaming at each other at the top of their lungs. Neither of them had found anything.

"Move your stupid wrist, it's hogging all the room in the cuffs, you freaky Goth girl!"

"Well, I'm better than you, you self-absorbed, useless snob!" And then they both launched themselves at each other.

DJ was silent as Sadie was happily skipping beside him, singing her name and Katie's name in a rather random beat. "Let's just find the things on the list," he grumbled.

"Alright! Here's one!" Sadie said cheerfully, picking a stuffed squirrel from the lowest branch of a tree.

He looked surprised. "Anything else?"

"Yes, silly, duh!" And with that, she skipped farther into the forest, dragging DJ by the arm and picking things from random places.

Over with Trent and Izzy, Trent had stuffed some leaves in her mouth, so everything was happily silent as the pair of them checked off items on the list.

LeShawna was dragging Owen by the hand as he sat on the ground, bawling that he was too tired and to hot to go on.

All of a sudden, a loud growl emitted from the bushes, and Owen burst into big baby sobs. Everything suddenly seemed very dark, with the dense canopy of heavy branches and leaves.

"Oh no," he bawled. "It's a bear!"

"Dude, we face bears everyday here. Get used to it," LeShawna snapped trying to pull Owen up but only succeeding in cutting a deep welt into her wrist.

Owen shook his head feverishly. "No, it's different. Haven't you heard the stories? The bears always go for the hottest guy on the island!"

LeShawna looked at him quizzically.

"I'm the hottest guy!" Owen cried.

"Suck it up," LeShawna said, inwardly picturing Owen as 'hot' and failing miserably. "We're going to win this one."

"No, LeShawna," Owen said, bravely. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt you. I'm just too hot for my own good."

LeShawna shot him a look. "Dude, why're you talking funny?"

Near the edge of the forest, yellow light seeped in through the wide cracks between trees. Beth was looking triumphantly at their list. "I told you I was right! We found six of the eight items on our way here!"

Bridgette was grumpily capping the pen and slipping it back into her pocket. "Great, great. Let's find the rest now." She did not like being wrong, especially when it came to the wilderness, which she considered her forte.

Courtney kneeled down by the base of a rather grey tree and unearthed a small silver shovel. "Great! Check that off, Duncan."

Duncan dug out the list from his pocket and messily put a red check mark next to the name. "I think that was the last one."

Courtney hopped up to look at the list, but instead banged her head on a tree branch.

"Um, ow," she murmured, slightly dazed. Needless to say, she felt like a total dork.

Duncan smirked as he put the list back in his pocket. "Smooth, princess."

"You just shut up!" Courtney said indignantly. "Why are you so sarcastic? No one does anything to you, but you're just hateful for no reason," she burst out suddenly.

Duncan was slightly surprised into quiet. There was long pause where they were both just staring at each other. But after a moment he just said, "We should head back, then."

Courtney reddened furiously. Could she ever just talk to him without losing it?

"Anyway, someone has to make up for your uptight-ness," Duncan said.

"Are you kidding?" Courtney scoffed. "I'm like, the most relaxed person I know."

He smirked again. "Yeah, you're_ totally_ relaxed."

She stiffened. "Well, I guess I'm just a big uptight _loser _in your book. Newsflash! Being like you just gets you in trouble."

"Oh yeah, like how?" he challenged.

"Have you seen yourself? Juvy and you're barely seventeen. Long line of police people, and look at you. I don't know where they went wrong."

"Well, I know how to have fun," he countered. "Unlike you."

Beth and Bridgette were both watching them through the trees, mouths hanging open.

In the span of about half an hour after the two groups from the upper left-hand corner came back, completed, the rest of them came back. Both Heather and Gwen looked extremely disheveled, clothes torn and hair completely messed up.

"Catfight," Owen whispered to Trent. "Man, I just love watching girls fight!"

Trent stepped back and away. "Uh-huh…great."

Owen slapped his own head. LeShawna looked rather disturbed.

Chris slowly made his rounds, nodding approval at Duncan and Courtney and Bridgette and Beth's completed lists.

"Oh, shame, dudes," he muttered to Gwen and Heather, who had not found anything.

He raised his voice for the cameras. "Well, it looks like the pairs of Owen and LeShawna, Courtney and Duncan, Beth and Bridgette, and Trent and Izzy have managed to complete their hunts. Chef? Come and unlock our buddies, here."

Chef obliged, and immediately everyone distanced themselves from their partners, except for Courtney, who remained near Duncan.

"I can't say the same for you dudes. Sadie and DJ, four of the eight, Geoff, Katie, and Harold found three of their eight, Heather and Gwen, nothing."

Everyone was waiting in agonized silence before Chris announced, "Gophers win!"

Eight apples bounced off Chris. "Owww!"

"That's what you get for that torture!" Bridgette called, hi-fiving DJ and Geoff.

Geoff looked slightly dazed as he grinned happily at the hand Bridgette had fived.

As twinkling stars filled the sky and a full moon rose, a coyote howled far away, unaware of the sullen campers gathering around a fire pit miles and miles away. Chris held the tray of marshmallows with one hand while nursing his head with an ice pack with the other.

"Today was obviously the most painful day any of us have experienced, physically and mentally," Chris said, glaring and gesturing to his own head, that was sporting quite a few purple bumps. "Well, one of you is going home today. If you do not receive one of these sugary bits of safety, you are to leave the island on the Boat of Losers and never come back. _Ever. _There are seven pieces of this safety on my plate, and eight of you." He paused to massage his head with the ice-packed hand. "Safety for Katie, Sadie, Duncan, Bridgette, Geoff, and Courtney."

Courtney glared as Duncan easily caught the marshmallow Chris threw with his mouth. He grinned cockily at her.

"DJ and Harold…well, DJ, you really did nothing wrong so I have nothing to say about that, but Harold, you disgusted your teammates with tales of your geek-dom. So really, no shocker that Harold, you're going home."

Harold huffed and crossed his arms, getting up dramatically and boarding the loser boat without another word. However, he wasn't so far out of earshot that the rest of the Bass couldn't hear him hacking wetly and puffing through his inhaler.

Chris turned back to the campers. "I'm very disappointed in you guys. All I have to say is, do better next time. We have another challenge set up for you tomorrow, so get back and go get some sleep."

_Don't you just love Owen? I actually really liked this one, mainly because of the actually serious fight between Duncan and Courtney. I thought that it would be fair to put a fight in before the other stuff so…yeah, feedback me. Plus I thought it was funny with Harold and his medical issues and Chris with the apples. I never really liked Harold; he's a weirdo, so I was happy to get rid of him. He's pretty useless in the challenges so…yeah, it's better for the Bass as well. However, I did feel I was a bit lacking in some of the details and I didn't mention some of the characters as much as I would like to. I already have an idea for the next chapter so stay tuned…_

_STILL NO FLAMES! I AM GOOOOOD! THANK YOU REVIEWERS! _


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